So, is there a point...?

[Vtec44]

I have the Nikon 85 f1.4G and 70-200 f2.8VRII version. I use both and there are pros and cons for each. I generally prefer the 85 prime. Then again I generally prefer prime lenses.

 

[tirediron]

85mm f1.2 is a good portrait lens
but longer is better, this portrait photographer uses a 200 f/2
www.flickr.com/photos/desertrose76

That will work if you have 30 feet of shooting room in your studio.
.

yes, the 'studio' portrait photographer
I think Sears still has those ........... !

So does Wal-mart. Oh... wait. I do that too, and have a pretty good list of satisfied clients.

 

[Destin]

85mm f1.2 is a good portrait lens
but longer is better, this portrait photographer uses a 200 f/2
www.flickr.com/photos/desertrose76

That will work if you have 30 feet of shooting room in your studio.
.

yes, the 'studio' portrait photographer
I think Sears still has those ........... !

Having a studio and offering classical studio portraits is the number one thing that will separate you from amateurs. If you photograph on location at the park or the beach etc., so can every soccer mom with a camera.

Maybe so, but the market for classical studio portraits has gone through the floor in my area. People absolutely prefer on location portraits right now, it's the current trend. Senior portraits, especially, are trending towards environmental portraiture in my area.

 

[Vtec44]

85mm f1.2 is a good portrait lens
but longer is better, this portrait photographer uses a 200 f/2
www.flickr.com/photos/desertrose76

That will work if you have 30 feet of shooting room in your studio.
.

yes, the 'studio' portrait photographer
I think Sears still has those ........... !

Having a studio and offering classical studio portraits is the number one thing that will separate you from amateurs. If you photograph on location at the park or the beach etc., so can every soccer mom with a camera.

Maybe so, but the market for classical studio portraits has gone through the floor in my area. People absolutely prefer on location portraits right now, it's the current trend. Senior portraits, especially, are trending towards environmental portraiture in my area.

I think it's also current trend and the age of your clients. Studio portraits are more for the older generations these days. The younger crowds see it as staged and unnatural (what they see of their parents' photos). The trend is moving toward life style, so outdoor locations are more suitable. Most of my clients are within the age group of 25-35 and very few have actually wanted studio shots. If they do, I can just rent one for the day.

 

[beagle100]

85mm f1.2 is a good portrait lens
but longer is better, this portrait photographer uses a 200 f/2
www.flickr.com/photos/desertrose76

That will work if you have 30 feet of shooting room in your studio.
.

yes, the 'studio' portrait photographer
I think Sears still has those ........... !

Having a studio and offering classical studio portraits is the number one thing that will separate you from amateurs. If you photograph on location at the park or the beach etc., so can every soccer mom with a camera.

Maybe so, but the market for classical studio portraits has gone through the floor in my area. People absolutely prefer on location portraits right now, it's the current trend. Senior portraits, especially, are trending towards environmental portraiture in my area.

I think it's also current trend and the age of your clients. Studio portraits are more for the older generations these days. The younger crowds see it as staged and unnatural (what they see of their parents' photos). The trend is moving toward life style, so outdoor locations are more suitable. Most of my clients are within the age group of 25-35 and very few have actually wanted studio shots. If they do, I can just rent one for the day.

right, there's a reason the photography studios have largely disappeared
but then many city malls have also disappeared

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[table1349]

85mm f1.2 is a good portrait lens
but longer is better, this portrait photographer uses a 200 f/2
www.flickr.com/photos/desertrose76

That will work if you have 30 feet of shooting room in your studio.
.

yes, the 'studio' portrait photographer
I think Sears still has those ........... !

Having a studio and offering classical studio portraits is the number one thing that will separate you from amateurs. If you photograph on location at the park or the beach etc., so can every soccer mom with a camera.

Maybe so, but the market for classical studio portraits has gone through the floor in my area. People absolutely prefer on location portraits right now, it's the current trend. Senior portraits, especially, are trending towards environmental portraiture in my area.

I think it's also current trend and the age of your clients. Studio portraits are more for the older generations these days. The younger crowds see it as staged and unnatural (what they see of their parents' photos). The trend is moving toward life style, so outdoor locations are more suitable. Most of my clients are within the age group of 25-35 and very few have actually wanted studio shots. If they do, I can just rent one for the day.

right, there's a reason the photography studios have largely disappeared
but then many city malls have also disappeared

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[Derrel]

Not quite sure why the "Facecouch" meme was added...it's true...studio portraiture is both Dead...and Alive!

Some people want studio portraits made...others find them weird....

An 85mm single focal length lens is both A Great Tool, and for the 70-200/2.8 owner, A Redundant Extravagance.

 

[bluewanders]

85mm f1.2 is a good portrait lens
but longer is better, this portrait photographer uses a 200 f/2
www.flickr.com/photos/desertrose76

That will work if you have 30 feet of shooting room in your studio.
.

yes, the 'studio' portrait photographer
I think Sears still has those ........... !

Having a studio and offering classical studio portraits is the number one thing that will separate you from amateurs. If you photograph on location at the park or the beach etc., so can every soccer mom with a camera.

Maybe so, but the market for classical studio portraits has gone through the floor in my area. People absolutely prefer on location portraits right now, it's the current trend. Senior portraits, especially, are trending towards environmental portraiture in my area.

I think it's also current trend and the age of your clients. Studio portraits are more for the older generations these days. The younger crowds see it as staged and unnatural (what they see of their parents' photos). The trend is moving toward life style, so outdoor locations are more suitable. Most of my clients are within the age group of 25-35 and very few have actually wanted studio shots. If they do, I can just rent one for the day.

We have a singular struggling portrait studio in my area. People just aren't interested in sitting down in front of a background, being posed, and told to smile. That's one of the biggest concerns raised when people contact me. They want good quality candid shots... Action shots... Environmental portraits... Things they describe as looking real and unrehearsed. They describe studio portraits as fake and boring, lacking authenticity.

I don't think it is just a passing trendfor a lot of reasons.

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[Christie Photo]

They describe studio portraits as fake and boring, lacking authenticity.

This has been going on for MANY years. In the past, this description came from "photographers" who either had no studio access or hadn't yet learned how to light and pose. Good pitch! Sell what you know.

ON THE OTHER HAND... I've always felt a bit the same. It has always been my approach to family portraits (for decades) to shoot either in the home or at an outdoor location of my choosing.

THAT being said... I've recently made the tough decision to close my store-front studio after 34 years. I'm the last full service photo studio in my town. June 30 will be my last day there. I estimate I shot less than 10 jobs there last year, including five or so passports and a table-top product shot. I'm moving my office to my home. The VAST majority of my work these days is architecture, industrial and products... all done on location. Of course, I'll continue to make outdoor and in-home portraits.

Fingers crossed.

-Pete

 

[Destin]

They describe studio portraits as fake and boring, lacking authenticity.

This has been going on for MANY years. In the past, this description came from "photographers" who either had no studio access or hadn't yet learned how to light and pose. Good pitch! Sell what you know.

ON THE OTHER HAND... I've always felt a bit the same. It has always been my approach to family portraits (for decades) to shoot either in the home or at an outdoor location of my choosing.

THAT being said... I've recently made the tough decision to close my store-front studio after 34 years. I'm the last full service photo studio in my town. June 30 will be my last day there. I estimate I shot less than 10 jobs there last year, including five or so passports and a table-top product shot. I'm moving my office to my home. The VAST majority of my work these days is architecture, industrial and products... all done on location. Of course, I'll continue to make outdoor and in-home portraits.

Fingers crossed.

-Pete

Good luck Pete!

Sounds like a tough decision for sure, but one that makes sense. It's all too common these days, though I'm sure a store front helps with client meetings/presentation, that can easily be done in a coffee shop or their home as well.

 

[bluewanders]

They describe studio portraits as fake and boring, lacking authenticity.

This has been going on for MANY years. In the past, this description came from "photographers" who either had no studio access or hadn't yet learned how to light and pose. Good pitch! Sell what you know.

ON THE OTHER HAND... I've always felt a bit the same. It has always been my approach to family portraits (for decades) to shoot either in the home or at an outdoor location of my choosing.

THAT being said... I've recently made the tough decision to close my store-front studio after 34 years. I'm the last full service photo studio in my town. June 30 will be my last day there. I estimate I shot less than 10 jobs there last year, including five or so passports and a table-top product shot. I'm moving my office to my home. The VAST majority of my work these days is architecture, industrial and products... all done on location. Of course, I'll continue to make outdoor and in-home portraits.

Fingers crossed.

-Pete

Good luck moving forward!

I've always found environmental portraiture to be pretty challenging. I admit most of that is probably due to my shoestring budget limiting my exposure to equipment and the fact that I am almost entirely self taught through years of reading and experimentation. But I do enjoy the technical challenge in figuring out how to light a person and the room they are in... Especially when it's a more fantasy/fashion based shoot... Like the environmental cosplay shoots I've done.

I've never had reliable access to a studio though so I've never had opportunity to dig down deep into studio portraiture like the sort and quality I see here on the forum from time to time. Very possible i would find it enjoyable challenging too, rather than tired and formulaeic the way it is portrayed by many people.



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[Christie Photo]

I've always found environmental portraiture to be pretty challenging.

By "environmental portraiture," do you mean people in their own environment, or people outdoors?

 

[bluewanders]

I've always found environmental portraiture to be pretty challenging.

By "environmental portraiture," do you mean people in their own environment, or people outdoors?

People in their environment. Portraits where the area itself is as much an entity of the photograph as the person in it... as well as the persons relationship/interactions with that space. Could be indoors, outdoors... where they work or play. Whatever space is meaningful to them. I've had a fisherman want portraits in his fly tying shed... a woodworker in his workshop... gamers in their collection/gaming room... men in their man caves/home theaters... a community theater actor backstage in the dressing room... an artist in her painting/sculpting study...

Or, in the case of the fantasy/fashion stuff I was talking about, the space is lit in a way to contribute to the fantasy itself in conjunction with props like fog and colored smoke, etc and so on. Not just with cosplay, fantasy settings seem to be getting popular in boudoir now too, in a recent one I was contacted to create a film noir spy boudoir set, in another it was a genie from a bottle. Both were tons of fun!

I think social media has made people want to tell their own stories more... the more story rich portraiture seems to be gaining a lot of traction, at least in my area, or it might just seem that way to me because my portfolio is getting heavy in that sort of work which probably attracts more of the same.

 

[DanOstergren]

Rent it.